Often in network switch environments, protocols that are similar in function, but incompatible in operation, are used unknowingly by network administrators which can cause unpredictable network behavior that is hard to diagnose and can be costly to remedy. For example, Service Providers in some occasions do not have control over or knowledge of the configuration of customer switches that connect into their network. If a customer switch is running a proprietary version of a protocol, e.g., PVST/PVST+ that is incompatible with the standard version 802.1s (MSTP) running on the Service Provider network, layer 2 connectivity problems may occur in the network.